Ouch! 04 Battlescarred!

[simch]

Sorry for the big post, bear with it!!

Went out riding in the Black Mountains in Wales (UK) at the weekend.

All was going well until we hit the base of a very rocky and steep trail called Guinivar. Our navigator, riding a Serrow(!...dont laugh its actually an amazing trail bike..!!) did not want to go up first and asked for a volunteer to lead! So, as i had never seen it before (the only one in the group who had not seen it), off I shot, at a rate of knots. Halfway up, there is this 70 degree right hand hairpin, huge jagged rock step on the apex, but I reckon I can just chug up accros the apex, then whip it round to complete the turn on the hairpin, and then pull up what looked like a very smooth craggy outcrop about 20 yrds long. This decision was made in a split second, but would have worked, except as I approach the apex, I see a cyclist sat down right on the line, with his bike crossing the trail. So I hastily switch to the wide line, which means wheelie up two steps aboiut 2 ft each, onto a higher rock step, then use the berm to sweep around.............. bad move!!

I get up on to the high step, some 5 ft vertically from already steep and jagged path, make the turn in the berm, but the thing stalls at such slow speed............ right foot goes down................into 5ft of fresh air..........!!

OMG, I though I was dead, ........ the fall for me was horrendous, I landed head and shoulder first on these huge jagged rocks, but worse was the bike.........it fell over past the horizontal off the step........and was upside down on my legs spilling all manner of fluids, fuel being the most worrying.

After a few seconds of totally being dazed, I scrabble out, see the bike, smell the fuel all over the cherry red header(!) and then notice the cyclist walking his bike off up the trail......!! So i shout to him for help, I cannot shift thre bike off this step, and the bastard just carries on walking.........!! After about 2 minutes, the rest of the guys in the group arrive and we lift the bike back up.

Rad squashed, (not broken amazingly with no rad guards) the top of the left bar all scraped but the right one( the way it fell) was intact! headlight cowl smashed to bits, but worst of all, it has punched a hole in the frame on the right, above the frame guard, (which wa not even marked!)

After letting all the all drain back to the motor, i turned off the fuel to stop what appeared to be syphoning cos it was running out the bottom for ages, and the bike fired up.

Rode the rest of the 4 mile trail without even one "dab" but once stopped I realised how my leg hurt. I was glad I had my 661 body armour on, and while leg is bruised I think I was v. lucky. ............why.............well as I sat waiting to fire the bike up, one of the guys with us, pointed out the headstone to a guy form his riding club who did exactly the same thing in 1999, but hit his head bad and died, right there on the trail..........!!

Bike's will always fix, but it really made me think, you know......?

Oh, when I got to the top I had to wait 30 minutes for the group to catch up, and that cyclist arrives! I thanked him for his help, and he said he did not have time to cos he was worried about losing his riding buddies.......!! ?

What a schmuck!

I think I will go silver on the frame when I have it straightened and welded up.....?

[GixxerBitch]

You're one lucky bitch, the main thing is you're OK!

As for the cyclist, you should have given 'big blue' a fistful and covered him with plenty of good 'ol' welsh shite!

Be safe!